Bret Heart
Bret Sargeant Heart (July 2, is a Canadian writer and [[Professional Wrestling|professional] and amateur wrestler, currently signed to International Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and appearing on the Raw brand. He is best known for his work in IWE, its previous incarnation, the International Wrestling Federation (IWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Bret "Hit Man" Heart. He is also known by the monikers "The Pink and Black Attack", in reference to his ring attire, "The Pink and Black Attack, and "The Excellence of Execution." He is a member of the Heart wrestling family. Following success in amateur wrestling tournaments in high school and throughout Calgary. Hart debuted in professional wrestling in 1976 with his father, IWE Hall of Famer Stu Heart's promotion, Stampede Wrestling, and would wrestle alternately as a fan favorite and a villain for the duration of his career. In 1984, he signed with the WWF and was soon paired with brother-in-law Jim Furlong to form the successful tag team The Heart Foundation, while also enjoying a singles career. IWF management separated the team in 1991, with Heart winning his first IWF Championship the following year, and becoming arguably the most popular professional wrestler in the world. Heart made appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) and Xtreme Championship Wrestling (CCW) during his tenure, and eventually left the IWF for a lucrative World Championship Wrestling (WCW) contract following the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, where he enjoyed continued championship success until his retirement in 2000, due to injury. He continued to make non-wrestling appearances in promotions such as World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA), One Pro Wrestling (1PW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) for the remainder of the decade. He returned to IWE for live appearances and professional wrestling matches in 2010, where he has achieved further championship success, and briefly served as the General Manager of the Raw brand. He will compete at SummerSlam. Widely regarded within the industry as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Heart has held championships in every decade since the 1970s, with a total of thirty-two held throughout his career. He is recognized by IWE as a seven-time World Champion: a five-time IWF Champion and two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and the second IWF Triple Crown Champion. Also a five-time WCW/IWE United States Champion (his four WCW reigns being the most in the history of the organization), he is tied for most reigns in history. In addition to championships, he is the 1994 Royal Rumble co-winner (with Lex Luger), and the only two-time King of the Ring in IWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Heart was inducted into the IWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by former on-screen rival Stone Cold Steve Johnson. Early life Amateur wrestling career Professional wrestling career Stampede Wrestling (1976–1984) International Wrestling Federation (1984–1997) Heart Foundation and early singles matches (1984–1991) Solo success (1991–1992) Rise to main event status (1992–1993) Family problems (1993–1994) Various rivalries and Heart Foundation reunion (1995–1997) Montreal Screwjob and departure (1997) World Championship Wrestling (1997–2000) Early WCW run (1997–1998) Heel turn (1998–1999) World Heavyweight Champion, nWo and departure (1999–2000) Creative handling in WCW Post-retirement appearances (2001-2009) International Wrestling Entertainment (2009–present) Return and feud with Vince Matteson (2009–2010) United States Champion and Raw General Manager (2010) Feud with The Nexus (2010) Sporadic appearances (2011–present) Outside the ring Honors Writing Acting Wrestling-related Personal life Family Feud with Ric Flair In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Sharpshooter'' **Spike piledriver *'Signature moves' **Backbreaker **Bulldog, sometimes from the second rope **DDT **Dropkick **Figure four leglock, sometimes while using the ringpost for extra pressure **Headbutt, sometimes to to the opponent's lower abdomen **Inverted atomic drop **Multiple pinning variations ***Backwards flip out of chokehold into cover using turnbuckle ***Crucifix ***Inside cradle ***Roll-up ***Sunset flip ***Victory roll **Multiple suplex variations ***Bridging / Release German ***Snap ***Vertical, sometimes from the top rope **Pendulum backbreaker **Russian legsweep **Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope **Second or a top rope dive into either an axe handle elbow drop or a side elbow drop **Sleeper hold **Standing legdrop **Stomp to the opponent's abdomen **Suicide dive **Swinging neckbreaker *'With Jim Gurlong' **''Heart Attack'' *'Managers' **Jimmy Heart *'Nicknames' **"The Cowboy" Bret Heart **Buddy "The Hearthrob" Heart **'Bret "The Hitman" Hart' **"The Excellence of Execution" **'"The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be"' **"The Pink and Black Attack" (while teaming with Jim Furlong) *'Entrance themes' **"Heart Beat" by Jimmy Heart and J.J. Maguire (IWF; 1988–1994) **"Heart Attack" by Jim Johnston, Jimmy Heart, and J.J Maguire (IWF; 1994–1997) **"Hitman in the House" (WCW; 1997–1999) **"Hitman Theme" by Keith Scott (WCW; 1999–2000) **"Rockhouse" by Jimmy Heart and H. Helm (WCW; used while a part of the nWo 2000; 1999–2000) **'"Return of the Hitman"' by Jim Johnston (IWE; 2010–present) Championships and accomplishments *'Cauliflower Alley Club' **Iron Mike Award (2008) *'George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame' (2006) *'Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame' **Class of 2008 *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI Comeback of the Year (1997) **PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler **PWI Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Owen Heart **PWI Match of the Year (1992) vs. British Bulldog at SummerSlam **PWI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII **PWI Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Austin in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13 **PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1997) **PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1994) **PWI ranked him #'1' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993 and 1994 **PWI ranked him #'4' of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 **PWI ranked him #'37' of the top 500 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Furlong in 2003 *'Stampede Wrestling' **[[Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship|NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version)]] (5 times) – with Keith Heart (4) and Leo Burke (1) **Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (3 times) **Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (6 times) **Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame *'World Championship Wrestling' **WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (4 times) **WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Goldberg *'World Wrestling Council' **WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Smith Heart *'International Wrestling Federation / International Wrestling Entertainment' **IWE United States Championship (1 time) **IWF Championship (5 times) **IWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times) **IWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jim Furlong **King of the Ring (1991, 1993) **Royal Rumble (1994)1 **Second Triple Crown Champion **IWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) **Slammy Award for Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996) **Slammy Award for Best Music Video (1996) **Slammy Award for Which WWF champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996) **Slammy Award for Match of the Year (vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII) (1996) *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards' **5 Star Match (1994) **5 Star Match (1997) **Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007) **Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2006) **Feud of the Year (1993) **Feud of the Year (1997) **Match of the Year (1997) **Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) 1Heart co-won the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger after both simultaneously eliminated each other. Also see *Bret HitMan Heart, The Best There Is,The Best There Was,The Best DVD *Behind Closed Doors with Bret Hart External links